Sissoko demands severe penalty for Serb over racist abuse

Mohamed Sissoko last night urged Uefa to take swift and severe action against the Anderlecht striker Nenad Jestrovic after the Serb's dismissal for allegedly racially abusing the Liverpool midfielder during Tuesday night's Champions League match.

However, Anderlecht and their disgraced striker suggested Kim Milton Nielsen's decision to dismiss Jestrovic was motivated by "arrogance" and an apparent long-standing antipathy between the Dane and the Belgian club.

Jestrovic, who was sent off only five minutes after entering from the bench, denies telling Sissoko to "Fuck off, black" during the 3-0 defeat at Anfield but faces a lengthy ban from Uefa competition when the governing body's disciplinary committee meet to discuss the incident on Monday. Nielsen yesterday confirmed he heard the Serb racially abuse Sissoko, and the Mali international insisted: "I know what I heard."

Sissoko added that he was saddened by the incident and would cooperate with Uefa if it wanted to take the matter further. "This type of behaviour deserves a serious punishment by Uefa because it sets a bad example for the whole world and must be settled rapidly. If Uefa calls me to give evidence I will tell the truth. I do not understand Jestrovic's attitude. It was the first time we came up against each other in the match and he seriously insulted me without provocation. "

It was the first time he had received such abuse from a fellow player, he added. "When I was with Valencia I received screams from rival supporters but this is the first time from a player."

Jestrovic, however, backed by the Anderlecht president Roger Vanden Stock, claimed he was suffering the legacy of two previous incidents involving Nielsen. Two seasons ago Anderlecht needed a draw in their final group match with Bayern Munich to qualify for the knockout phase when the Dane awarded a controversial penalty against Michal Zewlakow, the conversion of which condemned the visitors to a 1-0 defeat. And 12 months ago Nielsen sent off two Belgians in a 2-0 World Cup qualifying defeat in Spain.

"I'm very upset about what happened," Jestrovic said, "because I did nothing wrong. Sissoko provoked me, first by catching me with an elbow, then by calling me a son of a bitch in French. I replied: 'Fuck off.' That was all. Sissoko called me son of a bitch in the first game. I didn't react then but couldn't help myself this time. Even so, I didn't use racist abuse.

"The referee only heard my words, not Sissoko's. Or perhaps he only understands English, not French. Either way, Nielsen was very arrogant. I shouldn't be surprised by that. We know all about him after what happened with the national team in Spain and the penalty he gave in Munich. I went to his dressing room because I wanted to find out why he had sent me off. I didn't go there to apologise because I had nothing to apologise for. But all I got was an arrogant response. He comes across on the pitch as if he wants to be the star of the show, and it was the same afterwards."

Vanden Stock said: "This is no coincidence. Why are we always getting this referee for big games? It is strange it is always Nielsen when things happen in important games for us or the national team."

Nielsen is understood to be considering reporting Jestrovic for directing insulting language at him after the match. "I showed Jestrovic a red card because he said something racist to Sissoko," he said. "Uefa want strong action and sending him off was the proper course of action."

Fernando Morientes, who scored his sixth goal for Liverpool on Tuesday but limped off with a knee injury, is expected to be fit to face Aston Villa on Saturday.